Intern Program

18 months supervised training internship for new/recent graduates to develop their clinical skills

Intern Program

Oakham Veterinary Hospital provides the highest standards of clinical care and provides an 18 month supervised training internship for new and recent graduates to develop their clinical skills under the guidance of staff from the practice and the University of Nottingham.

The hospital has specialists in surgery, internal medicine, a large sports horse caseload and considerable expertise in equine reproduction.

Key responsibilities include:

  • Inpatient monitoring and care
  • General anaesthesia
  • Supervising standing sedation and multimodal analgesia and anaesthesia
  • Evaluation of emergency admissions out of hours
  • Diagnostic imaging
  • Communication with the owners of inpatients

At the end of the internship we expect all interns to be able to:

  • Assess and identify lameness and undertake distal limb nerve blocks
  • Produce diagnostic radiographs of all parts of the skeleton of the horse
  • Obtain diagnostic ultrasonographic images of the distal limb of the horse
  • Evaluate a horse with colic, interpreting rectal, clinical and ultrasonographic findings to differentiate those requiring surgical intervention
  • Effectively manage horses recovering from surgical colic, including decision making for pharmacological interventions
  • Undertake endoscopic examination of the horse's airways and stomach and obtain relevant samples and be able to act upon their results
  • Induce, maintain and monitor anaesthesia in horses including animals that are healthy and those with significant cardiovascular compromise
  • Undertake a complete dental examination, completing a dental chart and correcting routine abnormalities
  • Undertake assessments and interpret findings of all body systems, and obtaining appropriate diagnostic samples

In addition, interns will be able to work alongside advanced practitioners and specialists to develop expertise relevant to their future career plans in:

  • Equine Internal Medicine and neonatal care
  • Equine cardiology and poor performance
  • Lameness assessments, nerve blocks and articular injections
  • Equine reproduction
  • Ambulatory practice

Interns work hard, and are an integral member of the practice team. The out of hours work is based on a 1:3 rota. When on duty night checks on in patients are shared between interns, the ambulatory duty vet and nursing staff, such that the work load is equally shared. After a weekend on duty, interns are given an afternoon off the following week as a minimum. Accommodation is provided on-site in a shared flat with the other interns.

The internship programme has been running since 2010 and already several past interns have gone on to undertake residencies or work in large equine specific practices within the UK and abroad.

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer externship or clinical experience for potential applicants, however we ensure that shortlisted candidates are invited to the practice for a day to fully experience the work environment.

Oakham Veterinary Hospital has developed an exciting BEVA accredited 18-month internship with an optional, 6 month ambulatory secondment at another IVC practice . The internship is aimed at early career veterinary surgeons interested in developing their clinical skills. Two internships will be offered per annum with 3 interns employed in total starting every 6 months. Oakham Veterinary Hospital is a clinical associate practice of the Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and Science where we accommodate students on their final year rotations. A team of eight practice veterinary surgeons are assisted by University staff in areas of equine medicine and veterinary sports medicine. The hospital provides a diverse case load to support clinical training supported by excellent state of the art facilities.

Clinical training will be provided in three core rotations:

1) Internal medicine / critical care

2) Orthopaedics / imaging

3) Anaesthesia and surgery

Each position is offered for 18 months subject to satisfactory progress. Accommodation is provided in a shared flat on site, together with a competitive salary.

Positions commence: August 2025 and February 2026

In addition you will be provided with:

  • In-house CPD, support and mentorship from the specialists, advanced practitioners and certificate holders in your hospital
  • A VetGDP adviser
  • BEVA Membership
  • RCVS Membership renewal fees
  • Attendance at the IVC Evidensia Graduate Academy Congress once during your two years
  • Attendance at BEVA Congress once during your internship
  • Access to 5 of BEVA’s Fundamentals CPD Programme modules per year on the programme
  • Access to the VetPD Equine General Anaesthesia Course
  • Access to the VetPD Equine Discussion Panel
  • 5 weeks holiday every year, not including bank holidays, plus birthday leave

Application:

Please send your CV and a letter of intent to Emily.hecking@oakhamvethospital.co.uk by 6th January 2025. For further information or any application queries, please also address these to the above email address.

Interviews of shortlisted applicants are scheduled for week commencing 27th January 2025 and are likely to be in person at Oakham Veterinary Hospital. Interested applicants are welcome to contact Emily Hecking for an informal discussion about the posts. As a clinical associate practice of the University of Nottingham, Oakham Veterinary is unable to offer externship placements. However, there are opportunities to visit for a day throughout December if potential applicants would like to do so.

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